Austin City Limits Music Festival: 10 years in Zilker Park

On Friday, the 10th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival launches in Zilker Park. For three days, tens of thousands of fans from Austin and beyond will watch more than 100 sets from legendary veterans (Stevie Wonder), pop phenomenons (Kanye West) and up-and-coming acts (Kurt Vile and the Violators).

Most fans know ACL Fest, produced by Austin's C3 Presents, as one of the festival season's most sure-fire attractions, a three-day weekend of music, sun (most of the time) and chicken cones that sells out cold every year. But it wasn't always thus.

In 2002, ACL Fest was the little festival that could, a total crapshoot from the guy who put on shows at Stubb's, the road manager of Sister 7 and Lance Armstrong's agent. This is the story of the first nine years, from the folks who made it happen.

Patrice Pike, Austin musician: "Charlie Jones was on tour with (Pike's then-band) Sister 7 (as road manager) before the festival started, and he would talk to me about what he was envisioning. I remember him talking about the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and how he had always wanted to do a festival that was similar in that it was very eclectic, lots of stages in a very large natural park space."

Charlie Jones, co-founder of C3 Presents, then with Capital Sports and Entertainment: "I was doing 101X stuff, had done the millennium celebrations for the city and had spent a few years trying to develop my credibility with them because I really wanted to do an experience-based festival. In 2001, my old company Middle Man merged with (Lance Armstrong agent) Bill Stapleton's company Capital Sports to form Capital Sports and Entertainment."

Lisa Hickey C3 marketing director, then Jones' assistant: "He would go out on these runs around Barton Springs with his dog and imagine the layout."

Charles Attal, C3 co-founder, then head of Charles Attal Presents: "Charlie Jones and I were officing in the same building, in a small little house, it couldn't have been 1,000 square feet, on Fifth Street next to El Arroyo. It was him and Lisa Hickey, me and Amy Corbin. We were good buddies, but we were competitors."

Meanwhile, KLRU was trying to figure out what to do with "Austin City Limits." It was the longest-running music show on television, and it was time to tap the brand's equity.

Ed Bailey, marketing director, KLRU: "Around 2000, we had an ambition at KLRU to create brand extensions for the TV series. We talked about a festival, a small event that happened some part of the year where we could create music outside in the park, because there had always been this mythology that `Austin City Limits' had been shot in a park somewhere."

Though House of Blues had expressed interest in working on a festival with KLRU, Stapleton suggested that the newly minted CSE - a local company, after all - be given a shot. KLRU agreed.

Bailey: "I vividly remember the first meeting when we all got together to talk about this. Charlie (Jones) had a good relationship with the parks department, we had a great relationship in general with the city. `Austin City Limits' has in some ways been an outreach vehicle for the city for decades; it plays a role in the idea of the Live Music Capital."

Attal: "Jones, he came in one day and said, `Hey, I'm doing a press conference in Zilker; I want you to come and check it out, and put on some nice pants. Don't wear your T-shirt and flip-flops.' I said OK, and went to the press conference just to check it out."

Bailey: "On April 30, 2002, we literally went down to Zilker Park and set up a tiny stage with some chairs on it, invited the media down, and we made the announcement that `Austin City Limits' with Capital Sports and Entertainment was announcing the first ever Austin City Limits Music Festival for Sept. 28 and 29."

Jones: "I invited two promoters; only Attal showed up, so I asked him to work with me."

Attal: "I had never booked a festival before. Amy and I worked on it night and day. Putting it together in three weeks with two people was a little bit nutty."